Munster title is key for Allen

JOHN ALLEN has only one immediate target for his team, to regain the Munster hurling title, though the popular Cork manager hopes the provincial championship is not devalued by the new championship system.

"The Munster final for me still has a great aura about it, but I'm not sure how long that will continue to be the case when winners and losers go to the quarter-finals."

Waterford manager Justin McCarthy feels that people from outside the province might be "a bit envious of Munster hurling, the way it's played and Sunday was another advertisement for hurling.